The Lair (2022) spoiler free review

Directed by Neil Marshall and co written by him and Charlotte Kirk, The Lair is a American action horror movie that premiered at the Fright Fest in August 25, 2022 and then had a limited release in theaters in October 2022. It’s now available on Shudder.

When Royal Air Force pilot Lt. Kate Sinclair is shot down over Afghanistan, she finds refuge in an abandoned underground bunker where deadly man-made biological weapons half human, half alien are awakened.

Film synopsis

The cast includes Charlotte Kirk as Captain Kate Sinclair, Jonathan Howard as Sargent Tom Hook, Jamie Bamber as Major Roy Finch, Leon Ockenden as Sargent Oswald Jones, Hadi Khanjanpour as Kabir Abdul Rahimi, and Kibong Tanji as Corp. Jade Lafayette.

My opinion

After a strong opening scene and first 10 minutes The Lair descents into a boring mess. This action horror film feels like a mix between Alien (1979), The Hills Have Eyes 2 (2007), The Thing (1982) and The Descent (2005). A group of military soldiers in the middle of nowhere against biological weapons is something that we have seen before, and this time it doesn’t work.

From the unlikeable character to the poor CGI The Lair turns into a one time watch or a film that could be easily forgotten. It fails to entertain and surprise, making very easy to predict the plot and ending. Compared to his previous work The Descent (2005) the director failed to replicate the effectiveness of it making this new project look like the draft version of it.